US Patent 7826301 Word line driver circuit with reduced leakage

A word line driver circuit for use in a memory array including multiple memory cells and multiple word lines coupled to the memory cells for selectively accessing the memory cells includes a driver adapted to generate a word line signal as a function of a first set of address signals received by the word line driver circuit. The circuit further includes a switching circuit having a plurality of output nodes, the output nodes connected to respective ones of the plurality of word lines, and having an input node connected to an output of the driver and adapted to receive the word line signal. The switching circuit is operative to direct the word line signal to a selected one of the word lines during a memory access as a function of at least one control signal. Between a given pair of memory accesses, the output nodes and the input node of the switching circuit are held to a same prescribed voltage level to thereby substantially eliminate a leakage current path in the switching circuit.